Stephens gets students rolling

Saturday

May 29, 2010 at 12:01 AMMay 29, 2010 at 7:00 AM

Janese Heavin

“Quiet on the set,” someone yells, hushing background chatter in the studio. Smoke oozes out of a behind-the-scenes fog machine, setting an ominous stage for the strange woman to inform an American professor that a computer eventually will do her work for her.

“Perhaps yours as well,” she says with a thick German accent and a sinister laugh.

It’s the first take of scene 93 of “Red Cloud,” a narrative film shot this past week at Stephens College. Actors Cheryl Piha and Brett Prentiss will repeat the scene several more times, tweaking their lines and facial expressions as directed.

The 30-minute feature is the centerpiece of Stephens College’s Summer Film Institute, which allowed about 20 students to experience production on an actual set alongside professional actors and filmmakers.

The 10-day institute began in 2005 when Stephens launched its film program. The goal is to expose students to the various roles involved in making films, from designing the sets to keeping production on schedule, said Kerri Yost, chairwoman of the school’s department of film and media and a local filmmaker.

“So during SFI they rotate through each department and position on set at least once to get an idea of all the different roles — directing, cinematographer, gaffer, sound, publicity, art department, producing — and hopefully see what they enjoy the most and what kind of work they would like to go into,” she said.

In addition to the film, students also worked with Boxcar Films to produce a music video and filmed the filmmaking experience to create a behind-the-scenes documentary. But it’s the narrative feature that shows students what a true production is all about.

“In the film world, once production has started, every day is focused on production until the film is finished, and that’s what SFI is like, too,” Yost said. “It’s 10 intense days with no breaks and some later nights at times. But we get a lot done in this time, and it’s really motivating for them to see how much can be accomplished when we have enough time and dedication devoted to a project.”

Kayla Kauffman, a Stephens senior, knows firsthand how intense days can get; she’s in charge of keeping everyone on schedule.

“We’re running behind, but I’m confident we can catch back up,” she said during filming on Wednesday. Although she hopes to become a producer someday, serving as assistant director of the film was exciting, she said. “It’s fun to see it all come together.”

Chad Freidrichs, a documentary filmmaker who teaches narrative classes at Stephens, wrote and directed “Red Cloud.” The story is set on a college campus in the 1960s, taking advantage of Stephens’ buildings.

The plot revolves around a professor who fears computers aren’t simply predicting the weather but are actually controlling the weather as part of a communist scheme.

The film is expected to debut at Ragtag Cinema on July 1, screening alongside two local documentaries. “It’s been really fun,” Freidrichs said. “We’ve had a great time and hope we made a great film, as well.”